Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus,

²he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”

³For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).

⁴John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.”

⁵Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.

⁶But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him,

⁷so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted.

⁸At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”

⁹Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.

¹⁰So John was beheaded in the prison,

¹¹and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

¹²Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.

¹³As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns.

¹⁴Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary — you feed them.”

¹⁷“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here,” he said.

¹⁹Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.

²⁰They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.

²¹About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

²²Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.

²³After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

²⁴Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

²⁵About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.

²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

²⁷But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here! ”

²⁸Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

²⁹“Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

³¹Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

³²When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

³³Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

³⁴After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret.

³⁵When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed.

³⁶They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. This is how you are to deal with those who sin unintentionally by doing anything that violates one of the LORD’s commands.

³“If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must present to the LORD a young bull with no defects.

⁴He must bring the bull to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the LORD.

⁵The high priest will then take some of the bull’s blood into the Tabernacle,

⁶dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the inner curtain of the sanctuary.

⁷The priest will then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense that stands in the LORD’s presence inside the Tabernacle. He will pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

⁸Then the priest must remove all the fat of the bull to be offered as a sin offering. This includes all the fat around the internal organs,

⁹the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. He must remove these along with the kidneys,

¹⁰just as he does with cattle offered as a peace offering, and burn them on the altar of burnt offerings.

¹¹But he must take whatever is left of the bull — its hide, meat, head, legs, internal organs, and dung —

¹²and carry it away to a place outside the camp that is ceremonially clean, the place where the ashes are dumped. There, on the ash heap, he will burn it on a wood fire.

¹³“If the entire Israelite community sins by violating one of the LORD’s commands, but the people don’t realize it, they are still guilty.

¹⁴When they become aware of their sin, the people must bring a young bull as an offering for their sin and present it before the Tabernacle.

¹⁵The elders of the community must then lay their hands on the bull’s head and slaughter it before the LORD.

¹⁶The high priest will then take some of the bull’s blood into the Tabernacle,

¹⁷dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the inner curtain.

¹⁸He will then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense that stands in the LORD’s presence inside the Tabernacle. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

¹⁹Then the priest must remove all the animal’s fat and burn it on the altar,

²⁰just as he does with the bull offered as a sin offering for the high priest. Through this process, the priest will purify the people, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven.

²¹Then the priest must take what is left of the bull and carry it outside the camp and burn it there, just as is done with the sin offering for the high priest. This offering is for the sin of the entire congregation of Israel.

²²“If one of Israel’s leaders sins by violating one of the commands of the LORD his God but doesn’t realize it, he is still guilty.

²³When he becomes aware of his sin, he must bring as his offering a male goat with no defects.

²⁴He must lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are slaughtered before the LORD. This is an offering for his sin.

²⁵Then the priest will dip his finger in the blood of the sin offering and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

²⁶Then he must burn all the goat’s fat on the altar, just as he does with the peace offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the leader from his sin, making him right with the LORD, and he will be forgiven.

²⁷“If any of the common people sin by violating one of the LORD’s commands, but they don’t realize it, they are still guilty.

²⁸When they become aware of their sin, they must bring as an offering for their sin a female goat with no defects.

²⁹They must lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are slaughtered.

³⁰Then the priest will dip his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

³¹Then he must remove all the goat’s fat, just as he does with the fat of the peace offering. He will burn the fat on the altar, and it will be a pleasing aroma to the LORD. Through this process, the priest will purify the people, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven.

³²“If the people bring a sheep as their sin offering, it must be a female with no defects.

³³They must lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are slaughtered.

³⁴Then the priest will dip his finger in the blood of the sin offering and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

³⁵Then he must remove all the sheep’s fat, just as he does with the fat of a sheep presented as a peace offering. He will burn the fat on the altar on top of the special gifts presented to the LORD. Through this process, the priest will purify the people from their sin, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven.

¹Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too.

²I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing.

³And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile.

⁴Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there — false ones, really — who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.

⁵But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.

⁶And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)

⁷Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews.

⁸For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.

⁹In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.

¹⁰Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.

¹¹But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.

¹²When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.

¹³As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

¹⁴When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?

¹⁵“You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles.

¹⁶Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”

¹⁷But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!

¹⁸Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.

¹⁹For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law — I stopped trying to meet all its requirements — so that I might live for God.

²⁰My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

²¹I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

¹Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.

²They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.

³Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.

⁴But — When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,

⁵he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

⁶He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

⁷Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

⁸This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.

⁹Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time.

¹⁰If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them.

¹¹For people like that have turned away from the truth, and their own sins condemn them.

¹²I am planning to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you. As soon as one of them arrives, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to stay there for the winter.

¹³Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given everything they need.

¹⁴Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.

¹⁵Everybody here sends greetings. Please give my greetings to the believers — all who love us. May God’s grace be with you all.

¹“Listen to my words, Job; pay attention to what I have to say.

²Now that I have begun to speak, let me continue.

³I speak with all sincerity; I speak the truth.

⁴For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Answer me, if you can; make your case and take your stand.

⁶Look, you and I both belong to God. I, too, was formed from clay.

⁷So you don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t come down hard on you.

⁸“You have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard your very words.

⁹You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin; I am innocent; I have no guilt.

¹⁰God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me his enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks and watches my every move.’

¹²“But you are wrong, and I will show you why. For God is greater than any human being.

¹³So why are you bringing a charge against him? Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?

¹⁴For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.

¹⁵He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.

¹⁶He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings.

¹⁷He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.

¹⁸He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.

¹⁹“Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds, with ceaseless aching in their bones.

²⁰They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food.

²¹Their flesh wastes away, and their bones stick out.

²²They are at death’s door; the angels of death wait for them.

²³“But if an angel from heaven appears — a special messenger to intercede for a person and declare that he is upright —

²⁴he will be gracious and say, ‘Rescue him from the grave, for I have found a ransom for his life.’

²⁵Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s, firm and youthful again.

²⁶When he prays to God, he will be accepted. And God will receive him with joy and restore him to good standing.

²⁷He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.

²⁸God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.’

²⁹“Yes, God does these things again and again for people.

³⁰He rescues them from the grave so they may enjoy the light of life.

³¹Mark this well, Job. Listen to me, for I have more to say.

³²But if you have anything to say, go ahead. Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.

³³But if not, then listen to me. Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”

¹LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

²Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³O Israel, put your hope in the LORD — now and always.

¹My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.

²Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.

³Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.

⁴Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.

⁵Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

⁸He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.

⁹Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.

¹¹Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.

¹²Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.

¹³These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths.

¹⁴They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.

¹⁵Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.

¹⁶Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.

¹⁷She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God.

¹⁸Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.

¹⁹The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life.

²⁰So follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous.

²¹For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it.

²²But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.

¹Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon.

²But Gideon replied, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t even the leftover grapes of Ephraim’s harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiezer?

³God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided.

⁴Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy.

⁵When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

⁶But the officials of Succoth replied, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.”

⁷So Gideon said, “After the LORD gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.”

⁸From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer.

⁹So he said to the people of Peniel, “After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.”

¹⁰By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors — all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed.

¹¹Gideon circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, taking the Midianite army by surprise.

¹²Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors.

¹³After this, Gideon returned from the battle by way of Heres Pass.

¹⁴There he captured a young man from Succoth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven officials and elders in the town.

¹⁵Gideon then returned to Succoth and said to the leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you taunted me, saying, ‘Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your exhausted army.’”

¹⁶Then Gideon took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness.

¹⁷He also tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town.

¹⁸Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor — what were they like?” “Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.”

¹⁹“They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!” Gideon exclaimed. “As surely as the LORD lives, I wouldn’t kill you if you hadn’t killed them.”

²⁰Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid.

²¹Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gideon killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels.

²²Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”

²³But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD will rule over you!

²⁴However, I do have one request — that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)

²⁵“Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder.

²⁶The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels.

²⁷Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

²⁸That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime — about forty years — there was peace in the land.

²⁹Then Gideon son of Joash returned home.

³⁰He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives.

³¹He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech.

³²Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer.

³³As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god.

³⁴They forgot the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them.

³⁵Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel.

¹What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

²In his wisdom, the LORD will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers.

³For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the LORD raises his fist against them, those who help will stumble, and those being helped will fall. They will all fall down and die together.

⁴But this is what the LORD has told me: “When a strong young lion stands growling over a sheep it has killed, it is not frightened by the shouts and noise of a whole crowd of shepherds. In the same way, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will come down and fight on Mount Zion.

⁵The LORD of Heaven’s Armies will hover over Jerusalem and protect it like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save the city; he will pass over it and rescue it.”

⁶Though you are such wicked rebels, my people, come and return to the LORD.

⁷I know the glorious day will come when each of you will throw away the gold idols and silver images your sinful hands have made.

⁸“The Assyrians will be destroyed, but not by the swords of men. The sword of God will strike them, and they will panic and flee. The strong young Assyrians will be taken away as captives.

⁹Even the strongest will quake with terror, and princes will flee when they see your battle flags,” says the LORD, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flame blazes from Jerusalem.

¹In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach

²until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

³During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

⁴Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.

⁵John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

⁷He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.

¹⁰As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James).

¹⁴They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

¹⁵During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them.

¹⁶“Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David.

¹⁷Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

¹⁸(Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines.

¹⁹The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

²⁰Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

²¹“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus —

²²from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

²⁴Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen

²⁵as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.”

²⁶Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.